Sekhukhune United coach Brandon Truter has thanked the club for believing in him, saying “I’m always fired whenever I reach the cup semi final in my previous teams”, a jab directed to two of his previous clubs after leading the Limpopo side to the Nedbank Cup final.
Truter, in a way, was saying “look at me now, if you believed in me, I would have taken them to the finals, but you didn’t.”
Sekhukhune is in the final after they overcame Stellenbosch 4-3 in the semi-final via a penalty shootout win on Sunday night.
They will now meet Orlando Pirates in the final at Loftus Stadium on 27 May, which will be the club’s first time reaching their maiden cup final in its second top-flight season.
While it is first for Sekhukhune, so too for Truter, who guided two teams in the semi-finals but on both occasions was sacked and not in charge in the second leg ties.
He took Swallows to the MTN8 semi-final last season, being in charge of the first leg where they got a draw against Cape Town City, but when it came to the second leg, he was fired.
It was the same thing with AmaZulu this season in the same competition, being in charge of the first leg of the Wafa Wafa Cup, getting the all-important goal against Kaizer Chiefs, but being sacked before the second leg.
But it is not the case with Sekhukhune, who appointed him in November last year and the club is on course to finish in the top eight for the first time in its history.
“I have been fired at my previous clubs, not just my last club, when I’m always in the semi-final,” said Truter.
“I haven’t been fired now in the final, so thank you to the owners for a bit of patience. I have put it out there that the top four finished in my previous club this season because of the players I had there and I also said I will win the cup this season as well (with AmaZulu).
“But I’m not at that club but I’m in the club that is in a final and it can go either way for us. I’m just happy with the progress but we haven’t won it yet.
“We’ll refocus on the league and when that cup final comes, I think we will be ready.”
